JORDAN Daykin is most widely known to the public at large for his successful appearance on BBC Dragon’s Den in 2014. His age at the time was widely remarked upon.

Just 20 years old, the youngest ever entrepreneur to have pitched on the show, Jordan Daykin won an investment from dragon Deborah Meaden for his company, GripIt Fixings. GripIt is the world’s strongest plasterboard fixing.

What’s probably most interesting about GripIt, however, is not the jaw-droppingly heavy weight of up to 180kg that it can support, but that the innovation was only the latest chapter in the entrepreneurial story of young Jordan Daykin, who first identified ways to make money commercially as early as just 12 years old.

“My granddad is someone I always look up to in life. I aspire to be like him.”

And indeed, as he confirms here, he first had the idea for GripIt at the age of 13 after he and his granddad Stan (the pair are pictured together in our featured image) had been unsuccessful in trying to fit a curtain pole to a plasterboard wall. The pair created the prototype in Stan’s garden shed, and ‘GripIt’ was born…

After his research confirmed that the GripIt was a game-changer in the area of home fixtures and DIY, Jordan Daykin was off the ground with his first proper Business, although he had to go it alone after his beloved granddad Stan declined to be involved in the business, for reasons of age.

He has never looked back. The company was founded in 2008, and the early years involved research and testing, before the UK patent was obtained in 2012, with early orders from ScrewFix and partnership with the Grafton Group placing the product in 500 stores in 2013.

The Dragon’s Den investment in 2014 enabled a move to dedicated premises in Melksham, Wiltshire, enabling in-house manufacturing and increased production levels. By the end of that year, the store-count of the company was 1,400. A newly developed GripIt was launched in May with the company’s partner in 32 countries, RS Components, and the store-count doubled again to 3,000 by the end of 2015, including such stockists as Wickes, B&Q and many more.

2016 was the company’s busiest year to date. The current store-count is more than 5,000, the US patent was granted, and the product is now stocked in 420 Screwfix stores, 220 Curry’s stores, 252 B&Q stores and 239 Travis Perkins outlets.

11 Questions for Jordan Daykin

During 2017, the company, whose workforce has grown from 10 staff to 40, will have new products company. Jordan Daykin, aged 21, has already achieved so much while barely into his adulthood, but the growth of his business continues. And that crucial bond between Jordan and has granddad Stan (now 82 years old) is as strong as it was the day they developed the GripIt in Stan’s shed. The focus is on the future, and Jordan Daykin freed some time to talk to AGENT about his incredible startup story, and his life at the helm of this successful business.

1. Briefly tell us how you first got into business, and describe your business goals.

I first got into business when playing an online virtual game, Runescape, when I was just 12. Me and my friends always use to spend our pocket money on the virtual gold you could buy. I contacted the Chinese company that we used to buy it from, and managed to buy it in bulk for 50% of what they normally sell it for. I then sold it on the game by making lots of different profiles and directing them to the website I made to buy it. The Chinese company then bought the company for £10,000. I then made a tutoring agency website after being home-schooled and having trouble to schedule tutors at the right time. This has recently been rebranded and launched again. I came up with GripIt at 13, after trying to fit a curtain pole to a plasterboard wall with my granddad, Stan. We went down to the garden shed to create a prototype, and the GripIt was then invented.

2. What age were you when you realised you wanted to run your own business?

I was 13 when I researched online about plasterboard fixings. I looked on forums and the internet to find there was no solution to this well-known problem. None of the fixings on the market can hold a weight like the GripIt—it was ‘one of a kind’, and I realised we’d found a solution to the problem. One day, me and my granddad were sat on the swing at the bottom of the garden, and I told him about the research I had done. However, he was retired and felt too old to be starting a business. That’s when I first thought about having my own business.

3. Who are your business icons and inspirations?

Dragons’ Den has always been something I watched from a young age, the Dragons—Deborah Meaden, Peter Jones, and Duncan Bannatyne—have always been the people I look up to. I have read books on the likes of Lord Sugar and Richard Branson. So I would say all those are my business inspirations. However, my granddad is someone I always look up to in life. I aspire to be like him.

4. What has been your biggest challenge in business, and how did you surmount it?

One of the biggest challenges so far has been finding the right staff and team members. It’s so hard to find the right person for the job you’re advertising. But I think we’ve cracked it now, and have the perfect team to take GripIt further.

5. Work-Life balance: is it possible? How do you achieve it?

Work-Life balance is hard when you run a business, especially when your brain is on overload and you can’t switch off. However, it’s important to remember family and friends. So I always try to see them during the week or on the weekend for food and drinks—even though work is still at the back of my mind.

6. What is the first thing you do every day?

The first thing I do after turning off my alarm is check my emails and look at social media.

7. What screen saver picture is currently on your phone?

I’m a bit of a bore and have the standard iPhone background.

8. What is the most important app on your mobile phone, and why?

It’s my mail app. I hate having emails left in my inbox, so I tend to process some at home, and the app is also handy for this when I’m out on the road and in meetings. After that, I would say it’s the social media platforms.

9. What is the last thing you Googled?

It was when I was trying to find a nice restaurant in Atlanta, US!

10. What item do you never leave the house without, and why?

I never leave the house with my phone. I use it daily and don’t know what I would do if I didn’t have it on me!

11. What advice would you give to your younger self starting out in business?

Believe in yourself and push yourself. It’s hard work, but you will come out the other side.

The post Q&A with Jordan Daykin, Managing Director, GripIt Fixings appeared first on Agent.